_ A little eight year old girl from Bangladesh named Tasmina Nasreen asked her mother one day why they had to pray to Allah in Arabic. She wanted to know why this was the case considering that God is all-powerful and all-knowing which means He should understand all the languages spoken by His earthly flock, including Bangladeshi. Tasminas’ mother, a devout Muslim, was mortified by her daughters’ sacrilege. Mom, in a state of pure terror, shook her little girl by the shoulders and warned her that questioning God was a mortal sin, absolutely forbidden and would result in her tongue being ripped out. Tasmina nodded her head in a show of obligatory meekness while silently taking the challenge. When the opportunity presented itself the curious little girl secluded herself in a quiet room where no one would hear her. She stood firmly in the middle of the room, punched her delicate little fists into her hips and looked up at the ceiling. More than just questioning her deity, she cursed and insulted Him. Then she stood back and waited. And waited. And waited. And just like she thought it would be, nothing happened. Nothing, nada, zilch, bupkus, zip and zero. Not only did her tongue remain safe and sound in her mouth, the animals in her village weren’t struck dead by some mysterious disease, nor was there a plague of locusts or a flash flood to punish the unsuspecting bystanders in her community. This little experiment, pitting the power of God against the power of the mind, sent the little girl off into the realms of rational thinking and analysis. I admire her very much for this.

The Christian version of this morality tale is the threat of being struck by lightning for provoking the wrath of Our Lord Almighty by blaspheming God, His Son or His teachings. The trick here is that people who are actually struck by a bolt of lightning and then survive tend to be avid lovers of God and only too happy ascribing their survival to Gods’ lifesaving intervention. Then they label the experience as a miracle. God, who sparked the lightning in the first place, then did his best making sure that His true believer lives to suffer unimaginable pain and crippling disfigurements for a long long time. You just gotta love it. There’s times ya just can’t win for losin’.

Good morning Ms. Nasrin - This is such an honor for me. My name is Clay Littleton. For years I have been collecting my thoughts and observations concerning religion as a reality in the lives of humans and putting them in a list. When I first learned about you I was completely taken by the story of your ascension to reason. I had to put what I learned into my little anthology. If you would allow, I would be honored to forward it to you. Personally I prefer e-mail (fark8w@yahoo.com) but through whatever medium you choose I will do my best to communicate with you. Again, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.

To be connected with you, on Atheist Nexus or anywhere else in life, is a great honor. Your talk in Washington at the American Atheist conference this year was one of the most moving and inspiring I've ever heard. Your courage and powerful abilities as a writer make you one of my heroes. Thank you for all you've done for humanity.